Steven D. Brewer

I like episodic fantasy and space opera. I've been influenced by reading manga and manhua which tend to have an overall story with many shorter story arcs. I think my writing works best serialized as novelettes or novellas. I try to write fun, light-hearted adventure stories with excitement, humor, and good people, that leave you feeling happy and satisfied.

I grew up in Southwest Michigan. I spent my early childhood in a suburb and then moved to a house in the country. These experiences play out in my writing. But I've also traveled widely and all of those places provide fodder for the settings I write about.

When I was in fourth grade, I read The Hobbit. I got in trouble with my teacher who marked me down because I wouldn't read the moronic chapter books you were supposed to read at that grade level. I always read way, way above my grade level.

I wouldn't. I like a lot of authors for writing the way they do. But I like my own writing style and wouldn't want to write like anyone else.

Lois McMaster Bujold, Glen Cook, Patricia Briggs, J.R.R. Tolkien, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

The book I've given away more than any other is Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.

None of my characters have more than slivers of my personality and none are particularly influenced by my personal story. That said, there are many many individual events or aspects that are derived from my personal experience or interests. When I wrote Revin's Heart, I found myself wanting to describe the trees and plants that I imagined being in the various places he visited. But Revin isn't a botanist: he wouldn't know any of that. So I wrote another series set in his universe about Lady Cecelia, who is a botanist which allows her to talk about that stuff.

That's like asking a mother which is her favorite child. I don't have a favorite. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

During the winter, I use an office that's in my basement. I have laptop with a second portrait monitor and big speakers so I can listen to j-pop and k-pop while I write. In the summer, when the weather's nice, I have a little patio with a screened-in tent and comfortable furniture in the front yard where I spend most of my time.

Honestly, I like reading in bed.